Seeing a puppy in the wild sparks joy for any dog lover. But when you spot a puppy with The Dogist, you’re also on a mission to meet it.
And that’s exactly what happened when the man behind the wildly popular social media account, Elias Weiss Friedman, verbally rang the “puppy alert.”
“This is where I pick up my pace,” he says as he strides faster to the edge of the fence that allows us into the damp green space in Central Park where the puppy we've spotted and her owner are standing. The puppy’s name is Lola and she’s a 9-week-old Labrador retriever. Her collar hasn’t arrived yet, so she’s wearing her sister Violet’s. She was just one of the six dogs we met that afternoon.
Despite having photographed tens of thousands of dogs during his many years
as The Dogist, Friedman is still filled with delight every time he encounters a dog.
Watch this video to see what really happens when The Dogist spots a puppy.
Dog portraits
Friedman has always loved dogs. He was also into cameras growing up. But he never thought he’d be able to combine the two and become a dog photographer.
“They didn't talk about that as a career option in kindergarten, right? It was up there with, like, an astronaut or the president! Dog photographer? No way!” he laughs as we strolled through Central Park.
It wasn’t until he was laid off that he decided to pick up his camera again. Upon reflection, he says it was “the best thing to happen to me” because without that, The Dogist would never have been born.
With upward of 50,000 dog portraits under his belt, Friedman has mastered the art of the pup portrait. He’s equipped with lots of treats, squeaky toys and a library of weird noises to help capture the dog's attention.
The portraits will put a smile on any dog lover’s face, but Friedman’s favorite part is hearing people talk about their dog.
“When you ask people stories about themselves, they [say], ‘Oh, I don't know. Like, I don't really want to talk about myself.’” he tells me.
“But when you ask about their dog, it's like they light up. It's exhilarating telling a story and not holding back any details. They'll just say the most embarrassing story about your dog, just, right off the bat.”
He’s not wrong. When I asked what the most embarrassing thing his dog, a 7-year-old husky mix named Elsa, does, he didn’t hesitate to answer.
“She rolls in deer crap a lot.”
Despite her questionable choice of perfume, Elsa is the dog that changed his life the most.
“I think she helped me find myself and realize that I deserved love in my life. It's kind of an abstract thought, but your dog loves you whether you like it or not and will make you happier whether you like it or not, and that's a good thing.”
“Not only did she make me feel like I had more love in my life, she helped me get back with my now-wife, Samantha, so she’s just this catalyst of good things.”
The Dogist Company
Now, nearly a decade and a half later, Friedman regularly shares his portraits of pups with his 7.4 million followers on Instagram. He’s also turned this unconventional job into a bigger business. He wrote a book called “This Dog Will Change Your Life,” he hosts a show on YouTube where he talks about dogs with celebrities and now he’s launching his newest venture: The Dogist Company.
“One thing I’ve learned about photographing so many dogs over the years is that we love them and they make our lives better. And so I want to do something to make their lives better,” he says. The Dogist Company will include a line of pet-care products. The first product is Vitality, a soft chew formulated with antioxidants.
Antioxidants help protect a dog's cells from everyday wear and tear, Dr. Martha Cline, a Purina veterinary nutritionist who is not involved with The Dogist Company, tells USA TODAY. She said pet owners should talk with their veterinarian before adding supplements to their dog's routine.
“That's what we want to do, is spend more time with our dog. Unfortunately, dogs live much shorter lives than we do,” he says.
A dog a day
Photographing dogs isn't a normal day job, nor is it something he does every day.
"I wish I could do that," he says. "If I did, then I would have heaps of dog pictures and people emailing me like, 'Where's my dog? You met me yesterday, why isn't he already up?'" he chuckles, referencing the business cards with his email he hands out to the owners or dog walkers of the pets he encounters.
Friedman goes out with his camera about once or twice a week on average, and he'll meet about seven dogs per outing.
He spends the rest of his week post-processing and editing the photographs, working on some of his other projects and, of course, spending time with Elsa.
His favorite thing to do with her is to take a walk in the park. "It's restorative to get out in nature and that's one of the ways dogs improve our lives is by getting us off our phones, connecting with people, fresh air."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How The Dogist turned dog street photography into a business
